suit filed last week in Indiana aims to stop the use of money generated by a state gambling fund from benefiting "religious and theological entities."

   Several plaintiffs represented by the Indiana Civil Liberties Union say that public money has been diverted to Roman Catholic schools, a private corporation which engineers "voucher" programs on behalf of private and religious schools, and even an Easter pageant which according to its Articles of Incorporation, was formed to "produce either dramatically or in pageant form, the life of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and more particularly the events of the Holy Week."

   "Both the Indiana and United State Constitutions are clear," said ICLU legal director Ken Falk. "This action is brought to bring these practices to a stop."

   At issue are expenditures from the Build Indiana Fund, established in 1989 by the state Lottery Act. Under a 1995 amendment, revenues from riverboat gambling, horse racing, license fees and the Hoosier Lottery were to be deposited in a special Lottery and Gaming Surplus Account. The goal was to "provide dollars for the Indiana Technology Fund, and ... reduce Hoosiers' motor vehicle excise tax."

   From 1996 to 2001, riverboat casinos alone paid in over $760 million.

   The State Code stipulates that money from the fund "may be used only for state and local capital projects or for deposit in a revolving loan fund that may only be used for capital projects. Capital projects include the construction of airports, airport facilities, and local street and road projects..."

   The complaint lists several specific instances, though, where Build Indiana funds subsidized religious organizations.

   ¶    $25,000 in grants were given to the Marion Indiana Easter Pageant, Inc. which was formed to produce dramatic presentations and pageants on "the life of our Lord, Jesus Christ" and events of "Holy Week."

   ¶    Out of the 1999-2001 allotments, $50,000 of Build Indiana monies were given to Cathedral High School for "capital improvements"-- this, despite the fact that the program is to subsidize only capital improvements relating to the state or other government agencies, such as fire departments and road construction.

   ¶    The "Respect Academy," operated by the Light of the World Christian Church of Indianapolis was given $50,000, of which $30,000 was used to purchase computer equipment with the balance going for "administrative and contingency costs."

   ¶    Out of the same 1999-2001 funding, $15,000 was given to Cardinal Ritter High School to purchase computer equipment. The May 30 lawsuit complaint says that a check issued by the state was made out to the Educational Charitable Trust of Indiana, "a private corporation which makes scholarships to children in financial need attending private and parochial schools in and around Indianapolis..."

   ¶    In the 2001-2003 allotment period, $70,000 of Build Indiana funds will be provided to Educational Charitable Trust of Indiana. "It is believed that some, or all, of these funds will be used to assist with tuition payments to parochial schools."

   ¶    This same allotment period has provided $25,000 for Taylor University, a private evangelical Christian college in Upland, Indiana, and $125,000 in state funds going to St. Francis University, a private Roman Catholic school in Ft. Wayne.

   "Given this, there are absolutely no statutory or administrative guidelines which limit the use of Build Indiana Funds for secular, neutral, or non-ideological purposes once they are given to religious institutions, religious schools, or religious organizations," notes the lawsuit. "Build Indiana Funds are being used for religious purposes in these projects and/or have the primary effect of advancing religion."

   All told, research by the ICLU shows that from 1999 to the present, anywhere between $500,000 and more than $1 million in the stand funds has been used to benefit religious institutions. Indiana officials, though, were unapologetic about the improper use of the money. State Rep. Eric Turner who secured the funding for his city's Easter pageant told beliefnet.com: "I'm unashamedly try to get the money again... I think my constituents would support me overwhelmingly."

   State Rep. Vanessa Sumners, an Indianapolis Democrat who secured funding for the her religious group of choice, Light of the World Christian Church, was surprised that anyone would raise constitutional issues. She denied that she even considered the possibility of state-church entanglement, but said she was concerned about "children" having computers. A church official told beliefnet that the money was a "blessing."

   Meanwhile, former Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, now a special advisor to President Bush in promoting the federal faith-based initiative, said that subsidizing religious groups "shouldn't be a problem," depending on how the funds are used.

   Concerns that the Build Indiana program lacked proper legal and fiduciary oversight, though, along with charges of "pork" date back to November, 2000 when television station WTHR in Indianapolis ran a two-part investigative segment on how funds were being misused. The probe revealed "there's very little oversight on how local officials spend the money." One example was the use of $50,000 in repairing select portions of a retaining levee along the White River.

   "The wall was designed to stop erosion," noted reporter Jack Martin, "but it's also raised accusation of misuse of state dollars because of where it was built -- right behind the house where town board president Dan Axler lives..."

   One resident noted that erosion was more severe in other locations, but "Nobody's held accountable for these (Build Indiana) funds."

   Martin told viewers: "Critics of Build Indiana spending say projects like the Rocky Ripple wall illustrate a larger problem with the state fund. They say with the way the money is doled out, just about anything goes..."

   Indeed while Build Indiana funds were to be spent for capital improvements, WTHR found another questionable expenditure -- a $104,000 glow-in-the-dark sculpture of a turtle designed as part of a "redevelopment" scheme in Broad Ripple. "That's ridiculous, that's not the way you spend public money," said critic Jack Miller. "We need accountability in this, and we're not seeing it at all."

   The public funds generated through Build Indiana, though are benefiting religious organizations.

   An investigation by AANEWS of the Build Indiana Fund for 1999-2001 included a check into over 1,200 recipients, and found numerous religion-affiliated groups and projects, all of them blatantly illegal or highly suspect since the organizations are not public entities, and the money does not constitute a "capital improvement" like a road or other construction. YMCAs in several communities received tens of thousands of dollars in funding, such as the Brazil YMCA which was given $50,000.

   The Hoosier Boy's Town, a program founded by a priest in 1947 to provide "a therapeutic setting for disadvantaged young men" received several grants totaling $75,000 for its Lake County facility. In Schereville, the Hossier Boys Town received another $25,000 for unspecified building construction.

   St. Vincent's Day Care in Vandenburgh County was given $25,000. Another entry lists the recipient as the Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Inc. Development Fund which also received $25,000 for an unspecified purpose. The "Concerned Clergy Project Mercy" obtained $75,000 in funding, and a recipient known as "Noah's Ark Children's Village" was allotted $100,000.

   A good portion of the list consisted of grants to legitimate groups and projects, such as new fire equipment, traffic lights, and municipal building improvements. Other entries were less clear, and benefited private organizations like the Lions Club ("Maintenance Building, $30,000") and a Recreational Vehicle Museum. A number of grants went to agencies that may have been religion-affiliated, or operated a faith-based social program. In most of the public record entries, there was little description of how the money generated by the Build Indiana Program was to be used.

   The legal and growing political controversy over the Build Indiana Fund is part of a larger national debate involving President George W. Bush's federal faith-initiative. Bush's White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives hopes to break down remaining legal and political taboos about providing public money to sectarian groups operating religion-tainted social programs. Critics have charged that this invites judicial challenge, and raises questions regarding financial accountability. The Indiana case may serve as a legal caution to those who see no problem in eroding the separation of church and state, and consider tax money as "pork" for not only politicians but religious special interest groups as well.

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